can i wire this to my engine warmer and leave it pluged in every time its parked? will that kill the battery?
6779
This unit runs on 120 VAC; I plug it into an extension cord along with my engine block warmer and run it from household current. This works fine; I leave the wrap on the battery year 'round.
6780
That would depend on the capacity of both the wires on your engine heater and the battery heater. In cold weather it should not kilyour battery. Just my opinion.
1368125
It would matter what fuse you hook it up if it would stay on with the car off. Mine is hook up to the same circut as the cigarette lighter. It uses so little power it would take week for it would take weeks to kill the battery.
1771426
I don't own this product. HOwever, I researched it for you. Given it is for a bathrm use w/out an offering of batteries, you'd need an outlet plug set up in your car. In addition, the car would need to be set to "on" for there to be an opportunity for an electric current. You might want to check if it could damage your car as well. In other words, try to find one that is made just for a car because they do make such heating systems.
1265235
Your car has to be able to charge the battery that way so i'd check your owners manual just to be safe if you havent already. but we had a Toyota Prius and the ignition battery died so bought this and a quick jump kit. we jumped it from the cig lighter anytime the car wouldn't start. we never left it plugged in longer than to start the car. hope this helps!
1275386
So my question I guess would be is -- if I left my lights on and car battery died overnight, could I just hook this thing up and within a few minutes, startup my car?
701887
Yes, unless you wire the fan wires to a switch, or install an in line thermostat (Sold on Amazon), or have your mechanic wire the fan wires so when the engine is turned off so is the power to the fan meaning don't have him/her wire to run directly off the battery. Hope this helps.
797794
It depends on the temperature. If your car is outside and the temp is below freezing you could keep it plugged in but you dont want it plugged in unless the air temperature calls for it. My useage is less extreme. I'm usually parked in a garage and the temperature "usually" stays above about 40 degrees in an average winter. So, in an average winter I would probably not plug it in at all. Last year was very cold; there were several weeks where the temperature was closer to 25 degrees in the garage and several times I couldn't park in the garage and the car was outside at about -10 degrees. Those kind of temperatures can really wonk-out a car battery. I had some starting problems and decided to get this heater ready for this year. This heat strap is kinda an insurance policy for out of the average temperatures that may occur this year. Guess what, I'm already using it. The temperature is 20 degrees below average today, 5 degrees F this morning and my car is sitting in the driveway because of a project in the garage.
780119
I don't think you should leave it plugged in. I charge it for an hour before a planned use but when I simply grabbed it and ran, it had enough juice to start an 8 cylinder jeep.
246215
If it can't be plugged in overnight how long would I have to leave this plugged in for so that the engine is warm enough to start easily and not cause premature wear on the engine?
919569
Depends on how your car's aux plug works. In my truck, the aux plug stays powered even when the truck is off and key is removed so yes, the seat warmer will continue to heat and drain my battery in my truck. However, in my Benz, when the key is turned off, there is no power to the aux plug so it will not drain the battery. Hope this helps.
985546
If the lighter socket is still active when your key is turned off & removed then you should be able to plug into that socket. I don't use mine that way, I prefer to plug into an on board solar controller that I installed under my seat. On my pickup I decided to use a higher wattage solar panel, with a built in controller (Battery Tender 021-1164 10W Solar Charger). The controller are to insure that over extended periods of time, the battery is not overcharged, killing the life of the battery. For the small battery on my motorcycle and my lawn tractor, I've been very satisfied with the SP-400. If the lighter socket is still active when your key is turned off & removed then you should be able to plug into that socket. I don't use mine that way, I prefer to plug into an on board solar controller that I installed under my seat. On my pickup I decided to use a higher wattage solar panel, with a built in controller (Battery Tender 021-1164 10W Solar Charger). The controller are to insure that over extended periods of time, the battery is not overcharged, killing the life of the battery. For the small battery on my motorcycle and my lawn tractor, I've been very satisfied with the SP-400.
229812
You can leave it plugged in but be aware that due to the budget construction it has minimal protective circuitry and could have a short lifespan running constantly, and that many vehicles have powered OBD ports when not running so it will gradually drain your battery. Estimates for current vary but are generally between 50mA and 100mA which isn't a lot but is enough I wouldn't leave it plugged in for more than a few days without running the vehicle to keep the battery charge level acceptable.
2135006
I hooked up directly to the battery for now but you have to be careful because if you forget to manually turn them off you will kill your battery. I found that the hazard light switch has power that is controlled by the ignition so I will be changing power sources. Good luck.
2123210
I don't know why not, but I do know that you should never try to start the motor with the heater still pluged in. It's in the fine print of the instructions. Thats's how I ruined the last heater.
1792260
no, it needs to be wired directly to the battery with a 30 amp inline fuse fitted. the normal wiring used for a cigarette lighter is too light in gauge to run this unit
1308950
It depends on your make of car. On my 2006 Mini and the wives 2008 VW Rabbit the power to the 12volt plug is cut completely when the ignition is off. The device powers up once the ignition is started. Therefore you have no need to add a kill switch. On older cars or other makes they might not kill the power to the adapter when the ignition is off, so unplugging it (although inconvenient) is the best way to go to keep your battery healthy.
1688825
No.If your car outlet connect straight to the battery you car record on parking lot,but you gonna kill battery.